


Sugar, Honey, Iced Tea!

by IsabelArmuelles



Category: NCT (Band), WAYV
Genre: Cashier Johnny, Crushes, Fluff, M/M, Strangers to Lovers, meet-cute but it’s also kinda awkward, nervous Yangyang, this is basically me romanticizing convenience stores, yangyang is whipped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 19:02:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29889111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IsabelArmuelles/pseuds/IsabelArmuelles
Summary: Cute cashier scratches his cheek, still clearly sleepy but slightly more awake. Yangyang's cold iced tea can is sweating all over the counter. "By the way, what's your name? You always come here and make my shift less boring, but I never really bothered asking. You're kinda my favorite regular, not gonna lie."His… his favorite regular.Yangyang is a dead man.(aka the fic where Yangyang has a crush on the cute cashier working the graveyard shift at his local convenience store.)
Relationships: Liu Yang Yang/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 6
Kudos: 66





	Sugar, Honey, Iced Tea!

**Author's Note:**

> JOHNYANG NATION LESSGOOOO
> 
> this is a bday gift for Lou bc I love them and wanna give them a big ass smoochie smooch😚 u’re amazing and u deserve the world oki ily ehe<3
> 
> (Also if u seen any grammatical oopsie whoopsies no u don’t <3)
> 
> Enjoy!!

Yangyang knows it's not ideal, both for him, with his barely manageable insomnia and very short coming of money, and for the cute cashier working a graveyard shift and looking dead on his feet at the convenience store two blocks away from his shitty apartment; but he is also very gay, irrational, and a little bit of a simp, so alas, he pockets his phone and wallet and makes his way down the street at three in the morning for the fourth time that week.

Cute cashier was like a sight for sore eyes to Yangyang, especially since he didn't expect someone so good-looking to be working at such an ungodly hour in the one place where everything feels like a fever dream. Yangyang remembers walking in after crashing and burning over a mental breakdown because of an essay, the craving of Tostitos chips and Gatorade amplifying by tenfold after crying his eyes out, and stopping dead in his tracks once his eyes fell on the guy behind the counter.

Maybe it was the bored look on his gorgeous face, or the slightly obvious dark circles under his pretty eyes,- no doubt from being awake and working so late at night,- but Yangyang swears on his great-grandmother's ashes that he fell in love right there and then. The cashier turned to look at him for a second, gave a slight nod of acknowledgement, and then carried on with his bored faraway look, taking a pen from the counter and twirling it between his fingers. Yangyang had to pinch his thigh to snap out of it and get the show going, finally walking further into the store and hiding behind a shelf to have a proper breakdown for the second time in under an hour.

He picked out his bag of chips and drink with wedding bells replaying inside his head like a broken record.

Looking back to it, he probably should’ve tried to act differently, maybe to cause a lasting impression other than ‘guy with splotchy red face and ratty clothes walks in at ass o’clock to buy questionable snacks’, but he also knows that by the looks the cashier sends his way every time he enters the store around the exact same time, he didn’t cause any type of impression at all. The guy barely acknowledges him every single time, scans his products in silence, and takes the crumpled bills from his hand before mumbling out a standard and monotone “have a nice night” that sends Yangyang's little gay heart soaring until the next time he walks into the store, one or two days in between visits.

It’s dumb, and he’s well aware of it, but it doesn’t stop him as he makes his way around the corner and enters the store once again, already mentally prepared to get ignored once more. This time though, he tries to spice things up a bit,- for the first time since he started coming into the store to buy bullshit items just to ogle at the cute cashier, he looks put together. As in, actually wearing nice clothes and looking well groomed instead of his usual greasy hair and baggy clothes that are expected of someone that is awake at three in the morning.

He tries to convince himself he isn’t actually trying too hard to impress a cute guy that has literally shown no interest in him (even though in reality he looks pretty pathetic. Maybe he’s into some kind of emotional masochism or something), since he was already dressed up from a little get together at one of his friends’ apartment, but he knows there’s really no way to sugarcoat it. He’s got it bad.

The bell above the door dings obnoxiously loud as he steps in.

First thing he notices,- because it’s the only thing he’s been looking forward to,- is that the cute cashier has seen better days. He doesn’t know how to react as his eyes fall on a barely awake guy, seconds away from letting his head drop and probably pull a neck muscle, sitting behind the counter. Even the loud ass bell didn’t manage to do enough to startle him awake, and that’s how Yangyang knows the guy isn’t even aware that there’s someone else inside the store.

Yangyang stands there for what feels like literal hours before he decides to carry on with his initial plan; walk in, buy some canned iced tea, and then walk over to the counter and attempt to flirt by chickening out of interacting at the last second, in true gay fashion. Inside his head, his dumb plans work efficiently, but in his head he is also already married and enjoying his honeymoon with cute cashier guy, so his head really isn’t very reliable.

The iced tea is a calming, nerve-shaking difference from his warm and sweaty hand, the cold metal bringing some clarity to him. He’s gonna have to wake his crush up, not only because he needs him to scan the tea, but also because being asleep on the job in a store where someone could easily walk in and rob either the cash register or the store itself isn’t very ideal. Yangyang would absolutely hate himself if something bad happened to the literal most beautiful man to grace this earth. No he is not biased. (Yes he is.)

He plays around with the can in his hand for a few seconds before growing a pair and marching over to the register. Cute cashier's lips are in a pout, his head lolled to the side in the most uncomfortable position ever, and yet he still looks like some kind of teen magazine cover model. Yangyang can't help but stare, at the way cute cashier's hair falls over his forehead, long and luscious and blond (does Yangyang have a thing for bottle blondes? What is it about the hair color that sends his heart racing?), at how sharp and perfect his face looks. He nearly drops the can when he catches himself being a creep, staring for far too long, and he curses under his breath, scolding himself for acting all weird.

It's just another human being, he tries to rationalize. Another sleep deprived human being, just doing his job, trying to get some money, living his life. And yet Yangyang thinks he's never seen anyone as attractive as cute cashier, and the thought sends his heart racing, pounding harder the closer he gets to the register.

Once he is standing in front of the counter, he carefully places his iced tea in front of cute cashier, and takes a deep breath. He can do this. It would be very bad for this convenience store if the cashier fell asleep during his shift and couldn't tend to customers, no matter how scarce at this hour they may be. Cute cashier could lose his job of one of his superiors find out he'd been sleeping on the clock, and Yangyang would hate for that to happen,- not just because he wouldn't be able to see cute cashier during his late night snack trips, but also because cute cashier probably needs the job if he's willing to take such late night shifts (Yangyang knows that the later at night you work, the more you get paid. It sucks because your sleep schedule gets fucked, but anything for extra cash, honestly).

He gently clears his throat to get cute cashier's attention. Yangyang would hate to rudely wake him up, and he's too nervous to actually reach over the counter and pat cute cashier's shoulder to wake him, so he clears his throat once more. It doesn't work at all. Cute cashier lets out a small huff, which does things to Yangyang's poor little heart, but other than that he gets no reaction. He clears his throat louder this time, once, twice, thrice, before he gives up and gives himself a little pep talk. He can totally wake up his crush and play it cool. He can do it. It's fine.

"Uhm, excuse me?" He says, and immediately winces when his voice cracks. Great, he's going through puberty again out of pure nervousness.

It does the trick though, since cute cashier stirs in his sleep and his head rolls from the uncomfortable position over to the front, where it drops and makes him jump, efficiently waking him up. He lets out a groan and lifts a hand to lazily rub at his sore neck, closing his eyes and scrunching his nose at the pain. " _ Fuck _ ."

Yangyang swears he ascends. Great, sleepy, just-woke-up deep voice. Just great.

Cute cashier squints his eyes open and looks around, like he's trying to make sense of his surroundings. His gaze lands on a nervous Yangyang standing in front of the counter, and his brows lift in recognition. "Oh, it's you. Hello."

Yangyang can't handle cute cashier's voice, much less the phrase.  _ It's you?  _ That clearly means he has actually perceived Yangyang enough to recognize him, he knows who Yangyang is. Yangyang's glad cute cashier can't see his legs, because they are slowly but surely turning to jelly. "H-hi." Yangyang stutters out, too nervous to say anything else. 

Cute cashier rubs at his eyes, a sleepy hum leaving him and sounding like music to Yangyang's ears. "God, sorry about that. This week's workload caught up to me and I just- well." He makes a vague hand gesture and Yangyang nods. He understands. "I'm glad it was you who caught me like this, though. You're a regular here so it's chill, I guess."

Oh. Oh hell. Yangyang lets out another weak nod, melting at the fact that cute cashier not only recognizes him, but knows he's a regular and trusts him enough to talk to him like this. It's the first time cute cashier has actually talked to him, really, other than the usual payment related phrases and 'have a nice night' he is obligated to say to all customers. It doesn't matter if cute cashier is saying this because being sleepy makes him act more bold or because getting caught sleeping on the job makes him feel like he needs to explain himself; either way Yangyang feels like he's on fire thanks to the deep sleepy voice and actual acknowledgment from his crush.

Cute cashier stifles a yawn behind his hand, and Yangyang is captivated by how pretty his hands are. He wears two rings in each hand, Yangyang has noticed that before, but this time he pays attention to the long, slender fingers and perfectly trimmed nails, as well as the fact that cute cashier's hands are absolutely humongous and Yangyang would very much like to either hold them or have them around his ne-

Woah, stop that train of thought.

Cute cashier scratches his cheek, still clearly sleepy but slightly more awake. Yangyang's cold iced tea can is sweating all over the counter. "By the way, what's your name? You always come here and make my shift less boring, but I never really bothered asking. You're kinda my favorite regular, not gonna lie."

His… his favorite regular.

Yangyang is a dead man.

"It's Yangyang." He says in a low voice, and he mentally pats himself in the back for not fucking up his own name or making his voice crack. Cute cashier nods and hums, repeating his name under his breath, testing it out. Yangyang's legs have fully turned into jelly.

"Cool name. I'm Johnny." Cute cashier- no,  _ Johnny  _ says, offering Yangyang a small smile that makes him boil all over, hot enough to melt a bag of ice simply by hugging it. Oh, what a lovely name. Yangyang really likes it.

_ Johnny. _ Johnny Johnny Johnny.

"Nice to officially meet you."

"Likewise." The upward quirk of Johnny's lips sets Yangyang's heart racing, and he has to bite his tongue and look down to stop himself from saying something dumb. His eyes land on the can of iced tea, sitting in a puddle from the cold condensation outside the can.

Johnny looks down too, and lets out a soft ‘ah’ before picking the can up, grabbing a cloth from behind the counter to wipe the wet surface and the can itself. “Let me scan that real quick.” He drags the can over the code scanner, but stops himself from placing the can back on the counter, freezing in place. Yangyang’s jelly legs are shaking as he holds eye contact with Johnny. “Actually, this one’s on me.” He says before placing the can in front of Yangyang and reaching for his pocket.

Yangyang’s eyes nearly pop out of his sockets with how wide he opens them. “Wh- no, oh my god- you don’t have to-“ he waves his hands in front of him pathetically, too nervous to reach out and stop Johnny from pulling his wallet out of his pocket. Yangyang couldn’t possibly let cute cashi-  _ Johnny _ pay for his drink. 

Johnny shakes his head, a clear sign that he’s not taking ‘no’ for an answer, and then pulls a dollar out of his black leather wallet, placing it under the clip that holds the money together. He smiles at Yangyang as he pushes the register close, and Yangyang can’t help but stare at the blinding smile aimed at his mortified self. “It’s all good. Take it as a thanks for waking me up.”

Yangyang is still very much nervous, and his hand shakes slightly when he reaches out to grab the cursed iced tea can, no longer as cold and much more wet than when he first grabbed it. “Th-thanks.” He stutters out, mentally kicking himself for acting so uncool in front of his crush. He's lucky Johnny is probably still sleepy, otherwise he would look straight through Yangyang's gay panic and tease him about it.

But that's the thing. Would Johnny be the type of person to make fun of him for it in a lighthearted way? Or would he be chill about it and just let Yangyang be a panicked gay in peace? He doesn’t really know the guy, doesn’t know his personality or anything other than the fact that he works the graveyard shift and the convenience store that is closest to Yangyang’s apartment. Yangyang has daydreamed far too much about what Johnny’s personality might be like, and so far he seems all kinds of lovely, but he’s still a stranger to Yangyang, and their nonexistent relationship goes as far as guy-who-scans-my-items-when-I-go-to-the-store-at-ass-o’clock.

Yangyang would genuinely love to get to know him more.

Johnny pockets his wallet and Yangyang snaps out of it, can already in hand and conversation over. He tries to get something out, anything to get Johnny to keep talking to him, but it’s late and Johnny still has a job to do. That, and also Yangyang is just a loser who cannot bring himself to say a word to his crush without his voice cracking or sounding funny. He bites the inside of his cheek as he plays with the can in his hands, cracking it open at the same time he turns towards the door, conflicted feelings and all. On one hand, the fact that Johnny actually  _ talked  _ to him and even bought him a drink is much more of an interaction than all the previous times Yangyang has bought shit from the store, and it sets his gay little heart alight, beating at a hundred miles per hour. But, on the other hand, it’s still a dumb little interaction compared to how Yangyang normally talks to people, and he wishes it would’ve lasted longer. He’s not brave enough to keep things going, and his chance to say something slips away as he opens the store’s door, bell chiming above.

“Oh, by the way,” Johnny says, making Yangyang freeze on the spot and nearly lose his balance. He glances over his shoulder and prays to whatever god is above that his ears are not as red as they feel, and that he doesn’t look as ridiculous as he thinks he looks. “This is like, very unprofessional of me- but honestly I hate this job so it’s whatever,” Johnny interrupts himself to explain, and laughs a little at his own words. Yangyang thinks his laugh sounds exactly like what you first hear when you reach heaven’s gates. Not that he’ll be going to heaven whatsoever with how hard he’s been simping over Johnny. “But I might as well try asking. Can I get your number?”

Yangyang nearly drops the opened can of iced tea on the goddamn welcome mat in front of the store. How embarrassing.

“M-my… my number?” He’s hearing things. He’s definitely hearing things.

Johnny raises a hand to scratch at his neck, a sheepish smile appearing on his face. “Yeah. It’s totally cool if you say no, by the way. I’m just asking because I think you’re really cute. I wasn’t kidding when I said you’re my favorite regular.”

Now that… that is too much information for Yangyang’s little pea brain to process at three thirty-something in the morning. Yangyang feels like time completely stops after Johnny says this, and he has to take  _ a moment _ to get it together and get the squirrel on a wheel inside his head to start running again.

The whole 'favorite regular' thing had meant something, and Yangyang considered it in a 'this is the only person that comes into the store and doesn't bother me or asks dumb questions so I appreciate them for that' kind of setting, but now that Johnny has decided to add onto it, it sends Yangyang's mind into overdrive. It means he's been perceived, acknowledged,  _ and  _ been taken into consideration. It means that he's been in Johnny's mind for long enough to elicit some kind of approval, and this particular piece of information goes through Yangyang like an arrow to the heart.

But there's one particular thing he doesn't understand.

"B-but when you- I- when I came in before you just- you looked like-" Yangyang can't string a coherent sentence for the life of him, but luckily Johnny just patiently waits for him to get it all out, lips curled into a small smile. "You always looked bored a-and you never, like, talked to me or really acknowledged me so I-I just… uhm. Yeah." 

Nailed it.

Johnny's mouth falls open in a little 'o'. "You thought I was ignoring you or something?" Yangyang nods a little. "Oh my god, no no no, that's not it at all! I never really talked to you or did much because I'm always on the brink of falling asleep so that's like my 'nearly empty social battery' face." Johnny runs a hand through his hair, tugging at the blond strands. "You actually caught me sleeping this time, but honestly I feel much better after the impromptu nap, so that's why I'm actually being myself right now."

Oh great, Johnny is a sweet, talkative person with a beautiful smile and a pretty laugh. The information goes straight to Yangyang's daydream archive.

Yangyang taps his fingers against the can in his hands, which remains full because he is sure he will choke if he attempts to take a sip right now. "S-so… so you  _ did _ pay attention to me?"

"Every single time." Johnny confirms, nodding gleefully as if his statement isn't doing things to Yangyang's heart. His crush has noticed him since the start. Holy fuck. "Like I said, you can totally say no if you want, I don't mi-"

"No!" Yangyang blurts out at a volume way too high for this place and hour, before shaking his head and correcting himself when he sees Johnny's smile falter. "I-I mean, yes. Yes I would like to give you my number." He gets out, only managing to stutter once. He internally celebrates the small victory.

"Cool." Johnny's smile is absolutely blinding as Yangyang's jelly legs move to get him back to the counter, and Yangyang finds out that Johnny is definitely the type to tease you lightheartedly as he fumbles to take his phone out of his pocket. Yangyang surprisingly doesn't stumble over his words as he dictates his number to Johnny, and he receives a cat emoji not two seconds after so he can save Johnny's number as well. He considers just saving him as 'Johnny<3', but decides against it and goes for something more fitting, which makes him smile at his screen. Yangyang sticks around for a few minutes more, enjoying the sound of Johnny's voice as he tells him that he's free during the afternoons and would really love to meet up with Yangyang and get the chance to know him better (Yangyang does not melt at that. He definitely does not turn into a puddle of mush on the floor over Johnny's words. Not at all).

Yangyang steps out of the convenience store with a shy goodbye and red cheeks, heart racing fast enough to put Lightning McQueen to shame. So  _ that _ happened. Not only did he manage to talk to the most beautiful human to grace the planet, but he now has late lunch plans with said person in a couple of days, and he got called cute by his crush. Yangyang feels like he's on fire, and his crush on Johnny has amplified by tenfold after this interaction. He might sound a little pathetic, but he swears if Johnny keeps up the pace, with the compliments and pretty smiles, Yangyang might actually just hand over his heart at the snap of Johnny's pretty fingers,- and who could blame him? He's very gay irrational, and a big ass simp.

A  _ ding  _ sound comes from his phone as he finally takes the can to his lips and sips on the not-as-cold-but-not-lukewarm tea.

  
  


**Cute Cashier Guy**

_ btw i really liked ur outfit today ;D _

  
  


Yup. Yangyang's a goner.  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Anything Yangyang related makes me go OWA OWA BARK BARK so that’s how this fic came to be <3 find me on twt @IsabelArmuelles so we can be Yango simps together ;D
> 
> Thanks for reading!!!


End file.
